It has emerged that, following a review by the English Heritage, the popular writer Enid Blyton’s work has been linked to ‘racism and xenophobia’. These developments have emerged after the English Heritage began a review of its blue plaques following last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests.
Enid Blyton sold 600 million books in 90 languages. However, Ms Blyton, who has had novels among the world’s best-sellers since the 1920s, has now been linked to racism in updated English Heritage information about the blue plaque on her home where she wrote her first stories.
The updated description on the EH website now says: ‘Blyton’s work has been criticised during her lifetime and after for its racism, xenophobia and lack of literary merit. In 2016, Blyton was rejected by the Royal Mint for commemoration on a 50p coin because, the advisory committee minutes record, she was ‘a racist, sexist, homophobe and not a very well-regarded writer’.
However, it does add: ‘Others have argued that while these charges can’t be dismissed, her work still played a vital role in encouraging a generation of children to read’. This news has caused quite a stir on social media with some saying that historical figures are under attack from ‘rabble-rousers’ who want ‘to denigrate British history and its figures’.
One member of the Enid Blyton Society has now said: ‘Enid Blyton has come under a lot of criticism over the years as being sexist and racist, and maybe viewed with modern eyes some of it could be viewed that way, however, as has I think been discussed before, many modern critics are taking her writing out of the context of the time it was written. Enid Blyton was perfectly capable of understanding changing values’.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
[sibwp_form id=4]
